AUTUMN BRIDGE by TAKASHI MATSUOKA

Post by **Steve Hubbell** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 16:21 -0700

New book now out for anyone who has an interest in fiction set in feudal Japan...
Enjoy...

Autumn Bridge
by TAKASHI MATSUOKA
List Price: $25.00
Edition: Hardcover

By the author of Cloud of Sparrows

Hardcover: 432 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.25 x 9.12 x 6.34
Publisher: Delacorte Press; (August 3, 2004)
ISBN: 0385336411
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
East collides with West in this complex, epic tale by Matsuoka (Cloud of Sparrows), in which the ability to see the future is transferred from generation to generation in a Japanese clan. The mid-19th-century inheritor of the clan's visionary powers is Lord Genji, a powerful samurai warlord who favors western style modernization for Japan but faces fierce opposition from the antiforeigner element. Compounding his political troubles is his peculiar love affair with a beautiful young American Christian missionary. Emily Gibson has been in Japan for six years, doing her missionary work, trying to hide her feelings for Genji and translating a series of mysterious scrolls recounting the history of the clan. As she reads the scrolls, she discovers inexplicable references to her own life and her association with Genji's family. Meanwhile, flashbacks describe centuries of tangled relationships and events that result in Genji's rise to power, focusing particularly on beautiful Shizuka, Genji's 14th-century forebear, who has the sharpest vision of the clan's future. The convoluted tale is bursting with too many characters and jumps around in time too much to be a smooth read—a 13th-century Mongol invasion, assassination, clan warfare, romantic rivalries and an estranged son and heir to Genji's rule round out the packed narrative—but Matsuoka's rich, authoritative storytelling makes this an engrossing read.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Abayo...

miyamoto musashi · Mon Sep 27, 2004 18:34 -0700

speaking of cloud of sparrows, i didnt really like it, because it was set in the 1800's.

Post by **Steve Hubbell** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 20:26 -0700

miyamoto musashi wrote:speaking of cloud of sparrows, i didnt really like it, because it was set in the 1800's.

You must not have liked the movie "The Last Samurai" either, going by that logic... Or James Clavell's Gai Jin, the sequel to Shogun.

Abayo

miyamoto musashi · Tue Sep 28, 2004 12:41 -0700

ya, i didnt really like last samurai as much as i expected to.

and, i didnt even like shogun as much as i thought i would.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 18:37 -0700

Hi folks, pretty new to the forums. However not new to Usagi Yojimbo.

Anyway, I read Cloud of Sparrows and really enjoyed it. I found it to be a type of novel that I digested slowly. Will I read the follow up? When it goes soft cover. I found it easy to visualize the story enviroment. I felt that it had time to go into things that Last Samurai (a movie I really really like) did not.

So glad I read it. Reason why I think I found this period interesting is because when I was a kid, school books, not once refered to this corner of history.

I wonder how many decades this potential series will cover.

miyamoto musashi · Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:56 -0700

you should make an account

Redwall Templar · Post by **Redwall Templar** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 15:44 -0700

Accually I did. I've been having this problem over and over, not only at this site or others too. For some reason, I am not being logged in straight through all of my visitations. Even over on Ezboards.

My apologies Musashi.

miyamoto musashi · Post by **miyamoto musashi** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 4:42 -0700

hey i dont care, just its better if we can identify you. it wouldnt bother me at all if someone stayed as guest the entire time.

miyamoto musashi · Post by **miyamoto musashi** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 4:43 -0700

and apologize?, im not a high ranking dojo member, in fact, im the village idiot.